Court documents say one of the central figures in a Pennsylvania juvenile justice scandal could share up to $200 million that his law firm is owed in an unrelated environmental contamination lawsuit.
Robert Powell's law firm represented plaintiffs from the town of Avoca, where Kerr-McGee Corp. once operated a creosote plant. Kerr-McGee's successor company reached a $5.15 billion settlement in April for the cleanup of thousands of contaminated sites nationwide.
Powell is the former co-owner of two for-profit youth detention centers. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a kickback scheme involving Luzerne County judges.
The Citizens' Voice of Wilkes-Barre reports that Powell's former business partner has asked a judge to prevent Powell and another lawyer from getting paid for their work on the environmental suit.
Gregory Zappala says they used company money to bankroll the environmental litigation.
Suit: Man Imprisoned in ‘Kids for Cash' Scheme Could Get Windfall
Copyright AP - Associated Press
